Switzerland’s Differentiated European Integration : The Last Gallic Village?

Thisbook analyses Switzerland’s European policies using the concept ofdifferentiated European integration, providing a new and original perspectiveon the country.

Thisbook analyses Switzerland’s European policies using the concept ofdifferentiated European integration, providing a new and original perspectiveon the country. This analytical approach focuses on the similarities betweenSwitzerland's EU policies and the integration of EU member states. The latterhave often been the focus of research as Switzerland is the last WesternEuropean country not to have become a member of the European Union (EU) or theEuropean Economic Area (EEA). The book claims that Switzerland’s position onthe European integration map is different in terms of degree from many EUmember states, but not different in kind. The cornerstone of the book is newempirical data quantitatively measuring Switzerland’s differentiatedintegration during the period 1990 – 2010. The data rely on the sectoralagreements Switzerland concluded with the EU and the voluntary incorporation ofEU law into domestic legislation. The book shows, among other findings, thatover time Swiss European policies have begun to resemble integration policiesand that the more they did so, the more dynamically they evolved.